Counties / Nebraska / Webster County

Webster County, NE

FIPS 31181 · population 3,360 · outside every metro area

$143k
Zillow home value · 2026-06
The numbers

What this county costs and earns

Everything here joins on the county FIPS code, so each figure comes from the agency that publishes it with no name matching in between.

Zillow home value
$143k
▼ 1.8% year over year
Zillow ZHVI · direct
ACS median gross rent
$647
occupied-unit survey; not current asking rent
Census ACS · surveyed
Gross yield
n/a
gross yield cannot be computed without measured market rent
requires both measured price and measured rent
HUD 2-bed standard
$961
the Section 8 payment standard
HUD Fair Market Rent · direct
Independent price check

Do two methods point the same way?

Zillow estimates a current home value. FHFA tracks repeat mortgage transactions. Their growth rates should be read side by side, not averaged.

One annual series is unavailable
FHFA five-year cumulativen/anot annualized · through n/a
0%ZILLOW ZHVI2026-06−1.8%FHFA HPIperiod n/an/a
Annual changes use different methods and may use different periods. The comparison checks direction and magnitude; it does not create a blended estimate. Zillow county ZHVI pulled 2026-07-26; FHFA annual county HPI pulled 2026-07-28.
Owner-reported value$118k
Surveyed gross rent$647
Rent burden 30%+22.5%
Median year built1951
Housing composition

Who occupies the stock—and what it is

ACS 2024 5-year
15.4%vacant
1,764estimated housing units
Occupied tenure19.4% renter
owner 80.6%renter 19.4%
Structure mix90.6% single-family
Single-family 90.6%20+ units 1.3%Mobile home 2.1%Other 6.0%
ACS estimates describe the standing housing stock and occupied tenure. They do not measure current listings, transaction prices or asking rents.

Survey source: Census ACS 5-year — county housing value, tenure and stock · ACS 2024 5-year · pulled 2026-07-30. These values describe different housing universes and are not combined into gross yield.

Annual average covered jobs1,066▲ 0.8% from the prior annual release
Covered establishments128annual average reporting locations
Average weekly wage$843▲ 2.4% from the prior annual release
Largest private supersectorTrade, transportation, and utilities38.2% of disclosed private covered jobs
Local labor base

Jobs, pay and private-sector concentration

2025
0%COVERED JOBS+0.8%WEEKLY WAGE+2.4%Trade, transportation, and utilities38.2%
Annual QCEW counts cover jobs located at reporting establishments. The industry share uses disclosed private covered employment; it is not a resident-employment measure or a forecast.

Workplace source: BLS QCEW — county employment and wages · annual county employment and wages 2025 vs 2024 · pulled 2026-07-31. QCEW counts covered jobs located in the county, not employed residents or the metro score’s CES/LAUS series.

County brief

What the local evidence says

01Decision frame

Webster County poses an underwriting tension: its 2026-06 Zillow median home value is $142,533, down 1.82% year over year, but market rent needed to test income coverage is not published. Rental buyers should verify property-level rent, taxes and flood exposure; buyers requiring demonstrated yield should be cautious. FHFA annual HPI is absent, leaving no repeat-transaction index to corroborate or challenge Zillow’s direction.

02Housing economics

Carrying-cost discipline is central. The effective property-tax rate is 1.45%, and median annual property tax is $1,707; county figures do not connect either measure to the Zillow-valued property, so these are context rather than a tax bill. HUD’s $961 monthly two-bedroom FMR is a payment standard, not a market asking-rent estimate. Because market rent is not published, gross yield cannot be computed. QCEW reports an $843 average weekly wage for covered workers, not household income or tenant affordability.

03Demand & competition

Demand indicators are mixed and narrow. QCEW counted 1,066 annual average covered jobs in 2025, up 0.76%; Trade, transportation, and utilities was the largest disclosed private supersector, at 38.21% of total private covered employment. These are workplace jobs, not resident employment or an unemployment measure. Tax-return movers were nearly balanced at 63 in and 62 out, while incoming movers’ average income exceeded outgoing movers’ by $2,744. That small net flow does not establish tenant demand. Investor purchase mortgages accounted for 8 of 32 purchases, or 25%, indicating non-occupant buyer participation but not achieved rents.

04Risk & next checks

Risk limits remain material: inland flood is the dominant hazard, and modeled annual climate loss equals 0.23% of building value; it is not a property-specific insurance quote or dollar loss. The supplied Realtor.com inventory label is 2026-06, but MLS listing-price, active-listing, marketing-time and reduction figures are not published, preventing a supply and seller-concession read. FHFA annual HPI, market rent, and property-level flood, insurance, condition, vacancy, lease and transaction data are absent. Check comparable asking rents and leases, tax assessment, insurance quotes, flood-zone history, and current MLS/pending activity; without them, cash flow, exit liquidity and hazard-adjusted carrying costs cannot be underwritten.

Cities & communities

Where people live within Webster County

Census-recognized incorporated places and CDPs that intersect this county. The list does not pretend to include every neighborhood or informal community.

Population scale

Largest Census places

ACS 2024 5-year
Red Cloud city934Blue Hill city782Guide Rock village286Bladen village166Inavale CDP41Cowles village8
Bars use total place population, not a county-share estimate. An asterisk marks a place that crosses a county line.
Official directory

6 Census places

Population
  1. 01
    Red Cloud cityIncorporated place
    934
  2. 02
    Blue Hill cityIncorporated place
    782
  3. 03
    Guide Rock villageIncorporated place
    286
  4. 04
    Bladen villageIncorporated place
    166
  5. 05
    Inavale CDPCensus-designated place
    41
  6. 06
    Cowles villageIncorporated place
    8

Population is the total place-wide ACS estimate, not an allocated county share. A place crossing a county line is labelled explicitly. Source: Census ACS 5-year — cities and communities · ACS 2024 5-year · pulled 2026-07-30.

Risk, demand and competition

The three things a price does not tell you

01
Risk & carrying costFEMA NRI + Census ACS
Dominant hazardinland flooding

0.229% of building value expected lost per year

Effective property tax1.45%

$1,707 median annual bill

02
DemandIRS SOI household flows
Net migration+1

63 in · 62 out

Arriving vs leaving income+$2,744

$41,825 arriving · $39,081 leaving

03
CompetitionHMDA financed purchases
Purchases by investors25.0%

8 of 32 mortgages

investorother financed
No rent index is published for this county.Zillow’s county rent series does not cover every county, and estimating one from a neighbouring county would be a guess wearing a number’s clothes. Everything above is measured here; no wider market is mapped for it either.
Bear case

What can break the county thesis

  1. Achievable rent, vacancy and lease evidence may not support the acquisition basis or carrying costs.
  2. Property-specific flood exposure and insurance costs may exceed what the county climate-loss ratio captures.
  3. Missing MLS, pending-sale and transaction evidence may conceal weak exit liquidity or seller concessions.
Underwriting questions

Before pricing a property

Can gross yield be calculated from the supplied data?

No. Market rent is not published, and the $961 HUD two-bedroom FMR is a payment standard rather than market rent.

Does FHFA confirm the Zillow value decline?

No. FHFA annual HPI is not published, so there is no repeat-transaction index for comparison.

Does the migration record establish tenant demand?

No. It shows 63 movers in and 62 out, with incoming movers’ average income $2,744 higher, but it does not measure tenant demand or rental absorption.